Mudslide blankets town

Page Tools

Stuck in the mud ... Two cars trapped by a mudslide on Highway 101 north of La Conchita.Photo: AP

At least two people were killed, 10 hurt and up to a dozen were
missing today after a hillside saturated by five days of rain
collapsed onto a coastal Southern California neighbourhood.

Fearing another downpour, about 100 firefighters dug through mud
and debris to try and find those still trapped before more rain
overnight, which could cause more of the hillside to come down.

Geologists and lookouts stood watch under lights for any sign of a
slide and carried air horns to sound the alarm.

"The weather reports say that at any time we're going to start
getting additional rainfall and that will add to the unstable
conditions that (crews) are working under," said Ventura County
Fire spokesman Keith Mashburn.

Three people were pulled from pockets in the the rubble of their
homes by crews using listening devices found them. Authorities
believe that at least six people, and possibly as many as 12,
remain buried.

Mashburn said that in some cases houses were piled on top of each
other and then covered with up to 10 metres of mud, rock and
debris, complicating rescue efforts.

Firefighters used chain saws to cut through walls and get to
survivors trapped under doorways or furniture.

Two people were killed in the slide, which hit at 2:05pm PDT (0905
AEDT) crushing 15-20 homes in the La Conchita neighbourhood of
Ventura County. Ten people were hurt and most were taken to local
hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to critical.

Dramatic images on local television showed an avalanche of dirt,
brush and rocks as the steep hillside gave way on a ridge some 150
metres above the homes, and residents ran for safety. The same area
was hit by a mudslide in 1995.

"I heard it and turned around and saw it go down. I knew what it
was. I knew it was going to come down," said resident Mike Farrow,
a 50-year-old musician and contractor.

It was the worst moment yet in five days of floods and mudslides,
brought on by a series of winter storms that have pummelled the
state almost unrelentingly since mid-December, bringing 40 per cent
more rainfall than the area typically gets all winter.

Earlier, a 2-year-old girl died after she slipped out of her
mother's arms as rescue crews were lifting them by helicopter from
flood waters in Palmdale, east of Los Angeles, where the family's
car had been stalled.

The girl's body was found several hours later.

At least 11 people have been killed in the storms, which
meteorologists said were particularly damaging because they came
one after the other with no break in between. Normally dry soil was
so saturated that it could no longer absorb the downpours. Rivers
and flood control channels were also full or overflowing.

Freeways and major roads were washed out across Southern
California. Schools were closed as an area that normally gets about
38cm of rain in a winter tried to cope with more than 53cm in less
than a month.

Flights were delayed at Los Angeles International Airport and rail
lines were forced to suspend some service.

"What really causes problems in Southern California is when you get
very close back-to-back intense rainstorms. This area needs time
between storms for the soil to dry out," said Dan Keeton of
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The storm, which has battered California from San Francisco to Los
Angeles, was expected to finally blow through on Wednesday,
followed by scattered showers and wind gusts.
Reuters